The Game
by dancingpixie
Summary: Takes place after season four but before season 5. The Senior Staff of Voyager are forced to return to the WWII simluation on the holodeck and all hell breaks lose.
1. Chapter 1

TITLE: THE GAME

AUTHOR: DANCING PIXIE

RATING: T

SUMMARY: This story takes place after the season 4 but before season 5. The Senoir staff return to the holodeck and the WWII senario.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I started this story a while ago. I love the idea of Voyager's staff fighting in the Second World War but felt bad that none of them knew who they were. The story takes a while to get going mainly because I am a history nerd. As you can tell, this isn't finished yet but I hope it is still an enjoyable read.

Please read and review!

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Captain Janeway never regretted giving the Hirogen holodeck technology. They needed to evolve and redevelop their culture and the holodeck enabled them to do just that while persevering the hunt. She disliked how they had hunted and her crew through the holodecks but the cold logical side of her could understood why.

The Hirogen had never been the most popular aliens that Voyager had come across in the Delta quadrant and the majority of the crew had heaved a huge sigh of relief when Voyager left their territory. So it came as a surprise to Captain Janeway when she was enjoying a lovely evening in her rooms to hear Harry's voice over her Comm badge, "Captain to the Bridge. We are being hailed by a Hirogen vessel." Rubbing her eyes she slipped her red and black command jacket back on and she head for the bridge to see what was going on.

When she entered the turbolift Chakotay was already standing there. Apparently Harry had also hailed him. "So what do you think they want this time?"

Janeway shrugged, "I don't know. We left their territory weeks ago, gave them the technology they wanted as a relic. Why would they chase us? It isn't like them." The transporter slowed to a halt and the Captain and her First Officer entered the bridge. On the screen was a Hirogen commander sitting at his version of a bridge. Janeway squinted to she if she recognized him but his forehead ridges were too close together and his manner was different from any others she could think of. That one in the back of the screen though, she couldn't have sworn that he had been part of the group that attacked her ship a few months ago. Harry had been talking to the Hirogen Commander but they both feel silent when the Captain entered the Bridge.

"This is Captain Janeway of the Starship Voyager."

"You have violated our territory!"

"I am sorry, I was lead to believe that your territory was a part of space we left several months ago."

"That is the territory of the Alpha Clan. We are the Beta Clan," Damn thought the Captain, she had to face whole new group of Hirogen. The alien on the screen paused and then continued, "Are you the Captain who gave us the Technology?"

It took a minute for the Captain to realize what the alien meant before she responded, "Yes, your leader had an interesting plan for the holodecks, one which I believed would work."

The alien suddenly looked triumphant, "Then we have a solution. There are many hunters in our Clan and your pursuing your vessel would be an too easy of a hunt. My second in command tells me that when you were part of the simulation you were most challenging prey. If we were to put our two holodecks together we could produce a most interesting hunt."

This could work thought, Janeway. There was no way her ship could survive another attack by a fleet of Hirogen vessels but they could hold there own on a holodeck. She stole a glance at her First Officer and he barely nodded. Chakotay's support cliched it, with his agreement she left the platform where she been standing and walked around to her chair, "I think that this 'game' would be much more satisfying then a normal hunt. We will participate," The best way to deal with the Hirogen was to act like a Hirogen and trying to sound like a fellow hunter, she responded, "Do have a particular simulation in mind?"

" My crewmen tell me that one which involved a war that took place on your planet many years ago was the most interesting. It was the last simulation you played..."

"We call that war World War II and you are in luck, we still have the program."

Turning from his console, Tom spoke up, "Captain if we are going to play this 'game' we are going to need rules and restrictions."

The suggestion was ironic coming from Tom, and it showed how much he had changed since joining Voyager, but he was right. "One last thing, Commander. My Lt. has made a good suggestion. This hunt will need rules to ensure the challenge. I suggest an exchange of negotiators to figure out all the details."

"Our negotiator will transport to your ship in half an hour." The screen went blank.

"I guess that was good-bye," Captain shifted in her chair to Tom, "Mr. Paris you just became Voyager's newest negotiator. Of all of the crew you know the most about the holodeck and that particular situation. Try to get ensure that the safeties are on during the simulation and if not make sure the Doctor can some how treat the wounded."

Standing up Tom quipped, "It's a long long way to Tripary..."

"What?"

"Never mind Captain."

Six hours latter the senior staff plus Neelix and the Doctor meet Tom in the Meeting Room. He looked like hell. His jacket was off, and his hair looked decidedly scruffy. Data PADDS were all around him and he was drinking what appeared to by his 7th cup of coffee. The Hirogen negotiator had left 15 minutes ago not looking much better himself and shortly afterwards Tom had asked everyone to meet in the Captain's meeting room.

Once everyone had filed in and was seated around the table he rose from his chair. "The Hirogan are stubborn little buggers, sorry Captain, and after 3 hours of steady negotiations I realised that they were going to blow up this ship or play the game with out the safeties."

Tom leaned over and picked up a data PADD, "On the bright side I managed to arrange for the Doctor to be written into the program but they countered with that he can only use surgical techniques on the patients from the 1940's era, with the notable exceptions of B'Elanna, Tuvok, Neelix and Seven who all have alien physilogies. Basically we are going to be playing the exact same situation that we had the last game. To the Hirogen the challenge is re-enacting old battles with the same restrictions as the original soldiers. As a result the other rules are that even though we will get to know who we are this time around, we must stay in character at all times. If you come out of character, you are shot by a "sniper". To make things fair neither side is to use weapons from our time period. Oh, and only the senior staff is going to be in the simulation. The total simulation will last for a week and during that time neither ship is to attack each other or the game is forfeit. If we lose, Voyager will be captured and we become their new bulkhead decoration. If we win they leave us alone. Because this 'game' will start in a week, I thought I would give everyone a review tonight, you know some reading material on the Nazi's and their weaponry and some more detailed stuff for the non-humans in the room."

"The who and what weaponry? " asked Chakotay looking up from the data PADD Tom passed him.

"Didn't you take Advanced History at the Academy?' Chakotay shook his head, "Did anyone?" When only the Captain raised her hand, Tom slid into his chair, "Dammit! Captain with the safety of the senior staff in mind, I would like permission to organise an intensive 6 day seminar on early 20th century history."

"Permission granted Mr. Paris."

"Okay everyone, get ready to learn. Meet me in the Holodeck in six hours."

Exactly six hours latter Tom Paris sat behind his desk in the bare Holodeck. There were 8 others chairs with typical school desks in rows in front of him. Closing his eyes, he tried to hide how much fun he was having. Sure they were going to go into a simulation that could potentially kill them, but what away to go! Tom knew that he was operating on little to no sleep but he had been so excited. After the meeting he had returned to his quarters and spent the time going through all of his extensive collection on 20th century history to compile a good lesson plan. He was going to get history into his crew's brains or die trying.

"You apparently have a darker sense of humour then I originally gave you credit for, Tom," cracked the Captain, "Desks? I haven't sat in one of these since my Academy days."

"But they do permit easy note taking, which will you be doing a lot of."

"You may be the teacher Tom, but I am still the Captain."

"Message received loud and clear Ma'am."

By this point most of the crew had arrived. Tom kept a laugh to himself. You could tell a lot about a person depending of where they sat in the classroom. Harry and the Captain both sat in the first row armed with lots of extra data PADDs. B'Elanna and Chakotay hid in the back trying to avoid eye contact. Neelix and the Doctor both sat in the middle and Tuvok side slightly off to the side. There was still one seat empty. Seven.

As if reading his mind the Captain said, "Let me, Tom." She tapped her Comm badge, "Captain Janeway to Seven of Nine."

"This is Seven of Nine."

"You were to report to Holodeck 1 around now but your seat it still empty."

"I have no desire to attend Lt. Paris's seminar, anything I need to know about this 'game' I can assimilate at a latter date. Right now I am busy in the process of recalibrating the proton torpedos, if it is done correctly we may not need to engage in this inefficent game at all."

"Seven, the Holodeck now! That is an order!"

"Yes, Captain."

It took only minutes for Seven to arrive at the Holodeck and once she had taken her seat, Tom began his speech. She still didn't look happy about it though.

"This game isn't going to depend on how much firepower we have, or how cunning we are. This game is going to depend on what we know. As we speak the Hirogen are studying the same data as we are, memorising the same facts. I can't stress this enough, if you don't know this information, you will die. Those are the rules of the game, so take notes and pay attention."

Pausing Tom tried to make eye contact with everyone. "You can't understand what is going on if you don't know why you got here. And you can't understand WWII if you don't understand WWI and you can't understand WWI if you don't know what the Industrial Revolution is. We will cover the beginning of the 20th century to WWI this morning and World War I after lunch. The Twenties and Thirties and the Causes of World War II tomorrow. Any questions?"

Any doubts the Senior staff of Voyager had about Tom's knowledge of the early 20th century vanished during the first day. By the end of the day even Seven grudgingly admitted that Tom knew his stuff. Tuvok and Chakotay, both former Starfleet Academy teachers, voiced how impressed they were. The Captain noticed that Tom looked more relaxed then he normally did, something she saw only when he was piloting Voyager. Tom was in his element.

At the end of the day the Captain and the rest of the crew felt overstuffed with information. The industrial revolution, Henry Ford, imperialism, World War I, mustard gas, Treaty of Versailles. As Tom passed around the test PADDs Harry joked, "Last time Tom gave me a history quiz, he had a gun aimed at my head."

"What?" asked Tom looked up.

"You wouldn't remember, it was during the simulation when you actually thought that you were a WWII soldier. You wouldn't believe me when I said I was an American. You asked me what I would be looking at if Betty Garbow came around the corner. I froze and you nearly pulled the trigger."

"You remembered in time apparently."

"Yup."

The Captain wasn't quite sure but she thought she heard Tom whisper, "Thank God." Harry was perhaps the closest friend Tom had ever had and the Captain had a pretty good idea that Tom would be up a few nights thinking that he had almost killed his best friend.

After half an hour Tom looked up from his desk, "Pencils down!"

"What's a pencil?" asked B'Elanna.

"An ancient writing utensil. You'll learn about it tomorrow."

The next 3 days Tom crammed them as full as possible with information. They learned everything and more about World War II, the international situation, the internal situation, pop culture, attitudes towards women and the list went on. Voyager was in suspension in space while the senior staff absorbed all the information it could handle. It was not an uncommon sight to see the Captain talking to Chakotay about Mein Kampf over coffee, Harry and Seven arguing over the causes of the Second World War and Tuvok listening to Jazz music. The ship joke was B'Elanna's "extra help" sessions.

However on the 4th day, Tom did something different. When they entered there were at least 4 data PADDs already on their desks. "Today we are going to do something new. Part of the game is not only knowing the factoids of what is going on but also who we are. For example, I am Lt. Bobby Davis. I have a past and the holo-soldiers expect me to recognise them, I am friends with some and not with others. They will expect me to act in character. Briggite, played by Lt. Torres, and I have a romantic past. I know certain things and not others. To help everyone I have complied a short history and vital statistics. Underneath are other PADDs which contain information you are expected to know."

Raising a PADD Tuvok read the title, " 'A Hundred and One Alcoholic Drinks from the 1940's' Is this really required reading, Mr. Paris?"

"It is when you are the bartender," pausing Tom looked around at the confused faces of his friends, "Let me quickly go over who everyone is. We have been divided into two groups. The Resistance and the Americans. Commander Chakotay, the Doctor and I are all American soldiers. The Captain is the chief of the Resistance in St. Claire where she runs a Club. Tuvok is a man named Tomas, who works as her bartender and is her second-in-command. B'Elanna is my ex-girlfriend and the radio expert for the resistance. In order to get information she is carrying on a relationship with one of the German holo-soliders. Neelix is the messenger and local baker. Luckily for us the one with the most to learn is Seven, since she is both the munitions expert and the local Jazz singer." Everyone glanced over to see Seven with wires coming out her right hand connecting to the PADDS, eyes closed obliviously assimilating encyclopaedias worth of knowledge.

"Uhmm Tom?" Harry looked confused.

"Yeah?."

"Why don't I have any PADDs?"

"Well that is because you are special Harry. You see the simulation is programmed to prevent the holo-people from noticing aliens. They cover up Tuvok's ears and B'Elanna's ridges. But you are human, they can't modify you. And there very, very few Asian - Americans would be fighting in World War II in St. Claire. It is historically improbable, plus a character for you wasn't written into the original program. The Hirogen have a agreed that someone from each side needs to be on the outside to ensure that everything runs smoothly. That is your job."

"Great, then why they did you make me learn all this stuff?"

"Because I have written in an emergency character for you. If something goes wrong, you activate this character and enter the simulation."

"Well, who am I?"

"Read and find out." Tom passed Harry a data PADD, "Does anyone have any questions about the information in their profile?"

"Yes I do," The doctor had thoroughly enjoyed Tom's lectures, all of the information could have easily been written into his program but he liked the idea of 'learning', "My program is unfamiliar with many of the terms in these guides. Don't tell my I will actually have to cut my patients open?"

"Well that was what medicine was like then Doc..."

"TOM PARIS YOU ARE A DEAD MAN!"B'Elanna interrupted.

Turning to face her Tom asked, "What is the matter?"

"I'll tell you what is the matter under, in my profile under 'medical conditions' it reads '8 months pregnant'!"

"It's part of the original program B'Elanna, I can't write it out. It is part of the plot!" This didn't seem to cool B'Elanna's temper at all.

"Speaking of plot Mr. Paris," asked Neelix, " I don't really remember what the details of this simulation because apparently I was shot before I could really participate."

"Well is really quite simple Neelix. It is 1945, after D-Day. The War is essentially won but the Germans are still putting up a good resistance. The Americans have been assigned to liberate this part of France and that is where the Americans fit fit in. The Resistance is trying to help the American's liberate their city. We are attacking from the outside and you are attacking from the inside."

"But if the whole point is secrecy, won't our cover be blown when they see us?"

"Well, it is written into the program to 'disguise' all the Resistance members to look like holo-characters to the Hirogen. Any more questions?"

"Tom, I have one last question," asked Chakotay, "How does this war end? Do the Germans make a come back, does France become liberated? You never finished explaining."

"Your character doesn't know that Commander, so neither will you," replied Tom flashing a grin. Yup, thought the Captain, Tom really does have a dark sense of humour.

Once everyone had finished reading his or her profiles, Tom announced, "We are going to run a simulation of the St. Claire so that everyone gets idea of the plan of the city and then we are going to go experiment with the usage of the technology. We only have 3 days left and a lot to learn. Computer run St. Claire city plan, without Holo-characters."

Instantly the cold metal beams around them disappeared and the French village grew.

The next few days passed in a flurry. In between reading all of the material, some of which even Tom didn't know, the senior staff was busy learning how to ride bicycles, use radios and fire old style guns. Luckily the safeties where on because the Captain nearly blew herself up several times with a grenade. It took B'Elanna hours to learn how to tune the radio and Neelix nearly poisoned everyone with his first batch of French bread. Chakotay and Tom learned how to walk around with their body weight on their back and the Doctor accidentally killed many holo-character is his efforts to learn early Medicare.

All the while Harry was going nearly crazy working with counterpart to get the holo-deck big enough to run the simulation. Barely anyone ever saw him, he spent all waking hours at the holo-deck console.

There were some successes too. Seven first attempt at Jazz singing was breathtaking, to say the least. And Tuvok learned to mix a delicious martini. B'Elanna decoded messages at a truly incredible speed. Chakotay's ability to read maps impressed even the Captain.

It was on the last night of the seminars when they were eating diner at the Captain's club when she raised an excellent point. The dinner had been Tom's idea, as a final test, to see if they could really blend in with the holo-characters. Tom was dancing with B'Elanna while Seven sang. Tuvok and Kathryn were actually working, greeting customers and serving drinks. Harry, Chakotay and the Doctor looked particularly dashing in their tuxedos and were enjoying a drink. Neelix was taking full advantage of the situation to mingle. Seven had just finished her last song and had sat down when the Captain made the comment to Chakotay. "I think the most frustrating process of this whole thing was that before I did all this with out having to learn it. I just knew it. Now I am having to go back and relearn things I vaguely remember doing perfectly."

"You are correct Captain," Tuvok said wiping a glass, "I still find handling the money of this place confusing even though I know it should be very simple." Pausing to pour a drink Tuvok continued, "What I find most incredible is Mr. Paris extensive knowledge of this time period . Of all us, he had the least to learn." Tom turned around when he heard his name.

"Yeah, Tom," asked Chakotay sipping on his martini, "Where did you learn all this history? Certainly not all in one Academy course."

"Prison." When everyone raised their eyebrow Tom elaborated, "I spent several years in prison and penal colonies in a maximum security cell. After the 3rd day you start to go crazy, locked in that little tiny space. Some let it happen, others pick fights and do anything to get attention. A 3rd group sinks into themselves. It was the library cart that saved me. I had 8 hours of emptiness on my hands and a stack of library books. I was actually half way through a thesis when the Captain sprung me loose." Tom didn't talk about his experiences in prison very often and when he did it was always a sobering experience. Trying to break the silence that he had created, Tom spoke again, "I would like to congratulate everyone on passing this test. I think that we are ready. The games start tomorrow so there is nothing more to do. See you all at Holodeck 2 in the morning! Captain and the other members of the resistance I wish you luck! Chakotay, Doc lets get ready to rumble!" With that everyone started exit the holodeck..

Tom and B'Elanna walked off hand in hand. Tom thought that B'Elanna looked absolutely stunning in the black dress was wearing. She had insisted that she not start being pregnant until absolutely have to, so she had not started wearing the loose maternity clothes of the period. Tom began to think of what she was wearing under that dress and started to grow a little hot under the collar. B'Elanna was right, sometimes he really did have a one-track mind.

"Tom! B'Elanna!" Behind him the Doc was calling. Please, not another tutorial begged Tom in his mind. B'Elanna didn't look too pleased either as they turned around.

"What?" Asked his little chief engineer crisply.

"I really must speak to the both of you. If you would please step into my office."

Rolling his eyes, Tom followed the doctor into Sickbay and it to his office. "I have been looking to talk to the both of you but it has been hard to get a chance to speak to you with out every other staff member around."

"What is the matter Doc?" asked Tom wondering what possibly could be wrong.

"Nothing is really wrong, yet at least. You see your talk on pop culture of the '40's got me thinking."

"About what?" Tom tried to think about what he had said.

"You mentioned briefly in that contraceptives essentially didn't exist and that was one of the reasons that B'Elanna's character in the program was pregnant. However, she is only holographically pregnant. And after a little bit of research I discovered that if you and Lt. Torres engage in, uhmm, sexual activity in the program, she could become really pregnant, since neither of you are holograms."

During this whole discussion both B'Elanna and Tom had been going progressively redder. Shortly after the infamous Day of Honour B'Elanna had begun to receive contraceptive booster shots from the Doctor, like many of the other female members of the crew. She hadn't made a big deal of it and the Doctor had enough grace to refrain from making any comments. However, she had a severe allergic reaction, thus she and Tom decided to use more tradition contraceptives instead. They weren't ready to become parents and she knew managing her career as Chief Engineer and mother would be near impossible especially since they were trapped in the Delta Quadrant. And although she and Tom had discussed the possibility of what to do if they're contraceptives failed they were always very careful. Trying to smile she looked at the Doctor, "Thanks for informing us of this Doc. And we will keep you advice in mind."

When the left the Doctor's office Tom was cursing up a blue streak, "I don't believe it!" B'Elanna turned to look at Tom, there was real fear in his eyes, "I could have gotten you pregnant. I just never thought about it."

"You would have thought of it eventually. And now we know." Leaning up to whisper in his ear she said, "Now let's take advantage of our last opportunity."

Smiling Tom lead her back to his room. God he loved this woman.

Nobody, except maybe Tuvok and Seven, slept that night. The Captain paced the floors, Chakotay went a sprit quest. Tom and B'Elanna threw themselves into their love making. Harry worked on his console until the Captain ordered him to bed.

At 7 o'clock the next morning the Captain gave her final orders to the crew and Harry, who would be the Acting Captain during the simulation. Silently, she and the rest of the senior staff walked to Holodeck 2. The Hirogen had already boarded the ship but they would start their simulation in Holodeck 1. Tom may have guided them to the point but they were still her crew and she still gave the pep talk before they went out. "In exactly 2 minutes Ensign Kim will commence Simulation Liberation. We will be transported to the world of 1945 France. We have trained and simulated this so many times that most of have forgotten where we end and where our character begins. Tuvok, B'Elanna, Neelix, Seven and I will try to make contact with Chakotay, Tom and the Doctor as soon as possible. Tom has done a brilliant job training us for this mission and I have every confidence in you. Good luck and Aurevoir!"

Suddenly the holodeck went completely black. When the mist cleared the Captain, wait no she was Katrine now, was in her club. Tomas, her barman, stood behind the bar and Mme. De Neuvre, her Jazz singer, was at the piano. Slowly each of them turned to look at each other, examining their surroundings. Looking down, she realised she was wearing a simple brown dress. Seven looked a little better in a blue flora dress that had a very fashionable cut and Tuvok was wearing what appeared to be a suit with out the jacket and there were funny little elastic things around his arms. Well let's get started, thought Kathryn and gave both 'Mme. de Neuvre' and 'Tomas' a big wink. From behind her a door slammed 'Briggite' entered carrying a huge shopping bag. "Bonjour Briggite! Let me help you with that!"

"Merci...Katrine," B'Elanna responded passing her the bag, which a appeared to be some sort of food. Even under her large shirt and loose shirt she couldn't hide that she was very, very pregnant.

Quickly she checked her watch, "I believe that Monsieur Nealen will be here any moment with today's supplies, perhaps you would like to go into the kitchen to set up."

"Of course," Bridget replied still looking a little confused.

With in minutes Neelix had arrived on his bicycle. Grabbing the wine bottle he had been carrying, she ripped off the labels as she entered the kitchen. B'Elanna was sitting on a stool, with a radio in front of her trying to tune it, while holding an earpiece to her right ear. Suddenly the room exploded with noise, "THIS IS THE BBC..."

Swearing B'Elanna, turned down the radio's volume and the transmission continued, "This is a special news broadcast. Today London is expecting rain and showers while Essex and the Isle of White are going to be treated to lovely sunny weather. Temperatures will very from 12 degree to 30. Thank for listening to the BBC. Once again..." B'Elanna had been frantically jotting the whole transmission while Kathryn used the figures written on the back of the wine label to decipher the code. After the transmission was finished the two compared notes and the end result the Captain read aloud, "ALLIES COME, Tomorrow. Get radio out of HQ"

Pacing the floor Janeway continued, "At least we know now when they are arriving. The Americans may have big guns and tanks but they don't know this city and they don't know the Germans that guard it. What we need to do is..."

Suddenly from the front of the club they heard a low whistle, from where Seven and Tuvok had remained on guard. It was the signal that trouble had entered the club and Kathryn raced for the door while B'Elanna and Neelix hurriedly put the radio back into the hiding place.

In the Club was a Hirogen officer. Trying to act like an innocent businesswoman Kathryn greeted him, "Bonjour Commandante! Welcome to my club, we are not open yet but if you come back at a latter time we will more then pleased to serve you. As long as you leave the war at that door!"

"Thank you Madame, the new Commandante has asked me to search all of the shops and stores to ensure that no contraband is being held."

"Officer what a ridiculous thought! Contraband! Well feel free to search my club, you won't find any here!" Katherine answered trying to act as unsuspicious as possible.

"I will start in the kitchen."

"Of course, let me show you the way," Kathryn replied, leading the Officer into the back of the club. When they entered all they saw was Neelix peeling fruits and B'Elanna cutting up vegetables. Silently the officer searched the room from top to bottom but found nothing.

He only addressed them once, grabbing B'Elanna's her face and asking, "What about you whore, what do you know?"

B'Elanna looked like she was going to impale the Officer on her knife and blow her cover but Kathryn gave her a quick kick under the table and she softened, somewhat. "Nothing. I know nothing." The Hirogen officer let her go.

The Hirogen found nothing and departed. Once he had left, Neelix heaved a huge sigh of relief and then continued to peel the vegetables, shifting where he had been standing revealing a loose tile under which the radio was hidden.

Trying to phrase what she wanted to say with out acting out of time period she called for Seven. Seven walked into the kitchen with a grace that had been practised. Once she had found out that her character would wear high heels, she had worn only high heels till she could walk in them with the same grace as her normal shoes.

"Yes...Katrine. You called?"

"This is a situation we have been in before," Trying to get her point across she glanced at B'Elanna and Seven, to her relief both of the looked like they understood what she was trying to say.

"But this is were it will get different. Briggite we still need you to use your contacts in the Nazi HQ. To find out where the radio's are. Mme de Neuvre, this time I need you to organise a large explosion with Tomas to distract the Gestapo. You and I will then enter the HQ, get the radio and leave. With any luck the explosion should cause enough of a distraction to let the Americans enter the city safely. M. Nealan I need you to be waiting for them and pass on some messages."

"Katrine, any explosion of this magnitude would require more explosives then we currently have hidden under the Cinema," Seven might have lost some of her rigid speaking manner in this simulation but she still have a long way to go.

"M. Nealan, talk to you contacts get see if you can get some...dynamite."

"I am right on it, Madame."

Briggite was already at the door, struggling to put on her coat, "My Lt. should be in his office. Nazi he might be, but he treasures his child. If I start fainting he will let me in."

"Be careful," called out the Captain and then turned to her staff, "Okay folks lets get to work. We only have a day to get this plan in action! And the Club opens in an hour!"

American Camp - June 23rd, 1945, 2200 hours

Well at least there is coffee, thought Tom. He sat in his military gear around a camp fire, holding a metal cup in his hands. It had been a good day. Most of his research had payed off and not one of holo-soldiers had even begun to suspect that he, the Doctor and 'Captain Miller' were who they claimed to be. Luckily, just as they had arrived a telegram had come for Chakotay giving the attack plans. Liberate St. Claire tomorrow. It had been a long day, and no amount of reading could ever replicate the feeling of actually being there. Chakotay was a brilliant commander and had managed to hide any confusion he might have. The Doctor had also done well stepping right into the role as Field Doctor. Tom himself had spent the majority of his day lifting carrying, and preparing for the attack. He was sore and tried but not quite ready to head for his bedroll yet. Tomorrow would be a long and dangerous day and they were going to lead the attack. He hoped that he was accurate enough with his gun. He thoughts drifted to B'Elanna, Tom knew she was a capable officer but he was frightened for her. In this game her 'boyfriend' was a German Officer and when they were last here he had nearly hit her. And B'Elanna was in no condition to fight back. He was brought out his thoughts when Chakotay sat down beside him, "Pass the coffee, would you."

"Sorry, sir," Tom quickly passed the tin pot and a cup.

"You know St. Claire doesn't have any coffee right now due to rationing. I wonder how their residents are dealing." Chakotay might have been talking in the plural but Tom was pretty sure he was referring to one resident in particular. One resident who hated going with out coffee more than anything.

"I bet she will be more excited to see the coffee then us." Both men chuckled, but too tried to continue the small talk they soon drifted back into their own thoughts.

"You seem pretty out of it, solider," Chakotay asked a few minutes latter, "Anything the matter?"

"Not really just thinking of a girl."

"Any girl in particular?"

"I have been to St. Claire before. Fell in love with the prettiest girl I have ever seen, wrote her every day till the war started. Just wondering how she was getting along."

"You care about her that much?"

"More then you could ever imagine." Tom looked straight into Chakotay's eyes. He had no idea what kind of game they were playing but he had the strange feeling he was being tested. Chakotay knew B'Elanna better then anyone and had always looked out for her.

"Does she think that much of you?"

"Well I don't know, I am pretty much a screw-up and she could probably do a lot better then me but for some reason she always said she loved me."

"Well I wish you luck," Getting up, Chakotay patted his shoulder, "I am hitting the...sack."

Tom nodded to show that he had used the right terminology and then decided to find his tent as well. They had a big day tomorrow.

Harry sat in the Captain's chair, trying to look commanding. For the first time in a week he was semi-relaxed. His part of the mission was done at least. It had been hell the last couple of days, getting every system ready, working triple shifts just to get one minor detail all set up. Hirogen and Starfleet technology did not mesh easily and he had nearly torn his hair out a few times trying to get things to work, even falling asleep on his console more then once. But it was done now and Tom and the rest of the senior staff were in the Holodeck fighting. He was enjoying being the 'Captain' and finally having his part of the job done, but part of him still wanted to be in the holo-deck participating, instead of pacing, waiting for the days to go by.

It was weird being the only person the bridge. The rest of the crew was working on repairs and since the ship wasn't moving there was no real point in having a whole staff up here. Getting up he checked the sensors and the Holodeck. According to the readings everything was going according to plan. Now all he had to do was hail the Hirogen to see if everything was all right on their side and then wait for the Night Captain to show up. Maybe he would even get a chance to have dinner with the Delaney sisters. As he tapped the panels, he could see a light flashing out of the corner of his eye. The sensors were picking up something. An alien vessel. Getting a lock on the vessel Harry order the computer to display it on screen.

This was not good. Trying not to panic Harry barked, "Code Red!" Instantly the lights dimmed and the ship prepared for attack, "All crew members report to duty stations!" Within minutes the bridge was filled with people. Harry sat in the Captain's chair trying to look like one, telling the Comm Officer to hail the Hirogen. From behind him an Ensign announced, "Hirogen on screen."

"What? Why is your vessel in lock down?" A Hirogen barked.

"We have trouble. A vessel of species 8427 has just jumped out of fluidic space and is headed straight for us."


	2. The Attack

St. Claire - June 23rd, 1945, 2000 hours

B'Elanna hurried down the busy streets of St. Claire as fast as she could. She had just been with her 'boyfriend' and felt the profound need for a shower. He was a slimly, disgusting man, who thought the world of himself. He didn't feel the need to marry "Brigitte" even though she was pregnant, because it would lower his chances for promotion. When she had asked for a tour of the Head Quarters he had obliged, merely for the chance to make some else as impressed with Hitler, Germany and his position as he was. He was born for the manipulating. Unfortunately after the tour, he wanted sex, something that was not easy to do in her condition and that he wasn't very good at. It had been boring, and at times highly uncomfortable. She had to do many difficult things in her career in the Maquis and then Starfleet but this was definitely on her list of top ten most unpleasant. And what was worse was due to the stupid constraints on in the program she couldn't take her anger out on some unsuspecting person. But she had got the information and now all she wanted to was to go back to the club and take a shower. A LONG shower. Her back, feet and legs were all killing her and the holo-pregnancy was making her famished for the strangest things.

She entered the club from the back entrance, where Neelix was hovering over some sort of soup, "Bonjour, Brigitte! Had a good visit?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Okay, then how about some soup?"

"Let me just write down these details first, Mme de Neuvre will need them." It was so strange referring to her crewmates by different names.

"It does look like she will have a long night ahead of her doesn't she?" Neelix seemed to be really enjoying his role of messenger and baker.

Suddenly the kitchen door swung open and the Captain rushed in. "I need more wine Nealen, Tomas is almost out of the red. Good to see you are back Brigitte. The new German officers are just arriving and I must speak with them." Grabbing the wine the captain rushed out

as quickly as she had rushed in.

Kathryn had had an unbelievably busy day. She was used to running covert missions and organising people and supplies but running a business was far more complicated that she had ever imagined, especially during war time. But she had to focus on her mission, and getting her crew out of this deadly game alive. She walked into the main room of her club where several German officers waited uncomfortably, "Bonjour! Welcome to my club. Feel free to take a seat and enjoy the lovely voice of Mme. De Neuvre but remember to 'Leave the War at the Door'!"

"Merci Madame," the Hirogen officer replied sharply, taking a seat.

"Would you like a drink? Some red wine perhaps?"

"Yes."

Quickly Kathryn walked over to Tuvok and whispered, "The Red, 1883 and four glasses."

"An expensive wine but not a particularly good quality."

"That is the point."

Passing the bottle Tuvok lifted his eyebrows as he always did when the Captain confused him. Returning to the table, Kathryn passed around the glasses and uncorked the wine. Lifting his glass, the officer motioned towards the stage where Seven was singing, "You singer has a lovely voice."

"We are very proud of her." With any luck Seven's voice would lull this Hirogen officer into telling her where their explosives were kept. Trying to flatter the Hirogen, Kathryn took on the personae of a boot licker, fluttered her eyelashes and mentally preparing herself for a long night.

Hours latter Seven was still singing. She had stopped only once but the Captain had insisted she kept on going. Once a song entirely for the German Officers. She was hungry and needed to regenerate. This program was inefficient and a waste time, but the Captain had ordered her to comply. Finally out of the corner of her eye, she saw the Captain flick her hand. The signal that the desired information had been obtained. She finished her song, and like the doctor had instructed her to do thanked the audience and her musician and made a beeline for the kitchen. When she arrived, the Captain, Neelix and B'Elanna were already huddled around a map.

"The explosives are located here and here," The Captain informed the crew pointing out warehouses near the wharves in St. Claire, "I have already sent others from the resistance to steal us some dynamite. Mme de Neuvre, if we wish to plant the bombs at dusk tomorrow, will you be ready?"

"The bombs will be ready. I will not need to..regen...rest for another 16 hours." Seven responded with a slight incline of her head, "Where do you wish them located?"

"I recommend this guard post." B'Elanna pointed to a post in an empty part of the city, "There are no citizens there in the late part of the day and it far away from the HQ, it will take the Germans longer to get there and come back. Plus the guards in the post always take a 5 minute coffee break at 6 o'clock ."

"Prefect," The Captain was confusing Seven again. Her words suggested pleasure at this plan but her body responded as if there was something wrong. Pacing the floor the Captain continued talking, "I like this plan, but everything is working too well. I can't shake the feeling that we are walking to a trap. The 'officers' gave me the information altogether too easily."

"The officers may be good hunters but they are not used to alcohol, nor all this hiding and sneaking. They may be confused." Neelix answered while absently cleaning the kitchen, "Now Captain, our lovely Mademoiselle here hasn't eaten and has a long night ahead of her, so will every one let her sit down and eat?"

Before Seven had time to protest, Neelix had made her sit and pushed a bowl of soup in front of her. "Not really my best, you know, but the Club has limited resources due to rationing." The Talaxian seems to share Mr. Paris' obsession with make believe, thought Seven. He seems to actually be enjoying this ridiculous game. But with no other options immediately available Seven ate her soup.

June 23rd, 1945, 2100 hours - The American Camp

The Doctor was having the time of his life. Surrounded by wounded soldiers in the (what did they call it?) the first aid tent, he was finally getting a chance to show off his real medical skill. He couldn't say that he actually enjoyed cutting patients up and the methods used by the doctors was absolutely primitive, but it was strangely compelling to actually see the procedures being done. Of course everyone in the tent talked about how this was a light day and when the real battle started that things would get very bad, very fast but he wasn't worried. As he set a broken bone, he thought absently that "Real Experience: Medicine in the 1940's" would make an excellent topic for a lecture when they got back to Voyager. He had just finished setting the soldier's bone when a hand came up and taped him on the back. "Hey Doc," Mr Paris was almost unrecognisable in his army uniform, "I got some wounded for you."

"What happened?" The Doctor began to examine the patient on the stretcher, severe bullet wounds to the chest and limbs. It would be a miracle if he survived, 24th century technology could handle it, but not 20th. Not bothering to look up from his patient he asked Tom, "And how did this solider become a pin cushion?"

"Surprise attack. Some Germans snuck up on the guard post. Killed the other guard."

" Great. Well, if you excuse me this man needs immediate medical attention."

"Not a problem Doc. I was on my way to bed when I got called to the help this guy, I am beat after today. " Suddenly from over head a whistle of a bomb could be heard. Tom had the quick thinking to cover the patient's body with his own before the bomb hit. The whole tent shock and glass could be heard breaking somewhere. Then was silence. Still in shock the Doctor sat up slowly.

A nurse came running in, "IT HIT THE MESS TENT! Wounded coming in!" Tom grabbed his first aid pack and ran of the tent. For a moment the Doctor froze trying to figure out what to do.

"Wake up Doc!" The Head Nurse's nose was smudged with dirt and her sleeve was ripped. Looking down at the wounded guard she said, "We can't save this one. Lt. Baird, Smith, get this him comfortable and then prepare pre-op! Let's go, Let's go, LET'S GO!"

Suddenly the Doctor's programmed adrenaline kicked in. And so began one of the worst nights of his life. Since his activation on Voyager he had been faced with many new and unusual medical anomalies, he had even had patients die. But this went on forever. He was brought horribly wounded and brunt men. Many beyond the resources at his disposal. They died as he examined at them, died on the operating tables, died after he was done operating. Those that survived could be mutilated for life. He saw Tom and Chakotay several times, carrying wounded, digging through the rubble. Tom didn't seem like the same man he was on Voyager. He turned into a brilliant medic and who didn't seem to be brothered when the men he pulled from the bomb site died. He held their hands and tried to comfort them as they faded away. As yet another patient died the Doctor thought irrationally that even though these soldiers were holograms, their screams where just as real a real human.

This didn't feel like a game any more. This was war.

June 24th, 1945, 0700 hours - American Camp

Chakotay stood at the table drinking coffee in the tent he used as an office. Tom sat a wooden chair looking dead. God when was that last time he slept? The last of the dead and wounded from the bomb had been cleared up half an hour ago and he had called an emergency meeting for the Senior Staff. Tom had just arrived and the Doctor should be here any minute.

He smiled at the thought, frankly seeing the hologram in army skivvies made him laugh. He had Tom could pull off the uniform still look good. Something just didn't fit when the Doctor wore clothes other then a Starfleet uniform.

Starfleet. Voyager. All of that seemed a life time away. It was hard to believe that they had only been in simulation less then 48 hours.

The tent flap parted and the Doctor entered looking more tried then Chakotay had ever seen him. Tom shook his head as if trying to wake himself up and turned to Chakotay, "So Captain, why the emergency meeting?"

"This German attack wasn't normal. It was very targeted." He hoped that Tom was getting the message.

"You mean that perhaps the Germans are targeting the soldiers instead of the resistance?"

"Two different attacks in less then 6 hours? Sounds fishy to me," Chakotay took another sip of his coffee and turned towards the Doctor, "But I am worried now. The bomb killed lots of soldiers. Are we still going to be able to make the attack?"

"The good news is that we were lucky. Most soldiers who were in the Mess Tent were part of a battalion that was stopping for coffee, not our battalion. We did take causalities but over all we are still okay."

"Good." All Chakotay could think though was all the bodies that he had handled in the last 6 hours. In his days as a Maquis he had seen worse. But not by much.

"There is another thing I don't get," Tom said, "Why the Mess Tent? Why not the ammunitions stock pile? If they enough about our camp to know exactly where our Mess Tent was then why not hit something that would do more damage?"

"Simple," replied Chakotay, "This wasn't about tactics, this was personal." The three men mulled over that for a minute before Chakotay said, "Private Davis?"

"Yessir?"

"Go get some sleep. We have got a city to liberate tomorrow. And the faster we get the city liberated that faster we can go home." Chakotay continued that train of thoughts in his head thinking; and the faster we go home, the sooner we had return to modern technology. COMM systems, modern medicine and more importantly getting Voyager out of the Delta quadrant.

When Chakotay looked up from his thoughts the Doctor and Tom were gone.

June 24th, 1945, 1600 hours - St. Claire:

The Captain removed the last part of her white suit. Who would have thought that an outfit could have so many different parts? It had taken her hours to put the whole thing together. In a private part of her mind she admitted that she did look stunning the white suit, something that she would normally never were on Voyager. Pulling on black pants and turtleneck, she thought that maybe she and her replicator could have a good conversation when they got back about formal wear.

She was in her room above the Club, were her character lived. According to Tom's research it looked like a normal bedroom to the 1940's. Brass bed, dressers, wooden chair and mirror. Kathryn had noticed that Katrine character's tended to be a bit more of a seductress then she was and the room's decoration gave off the slightest vibe of a minx.

She had just finished giving Neelix the messages he would take to her first Officer and the rest of the crew in the American Camp and was now getting ready for her part of the mission. Rumours had been flittering into the city all day that there had been a bomb attack on the soldier's camp. She had tried not to think about whether Chakotay, Tom or the Doctor were dead or dying but now her mind wandered. This whole crazy plan that the resistance had organised was good but there was a lot of luck involved. And Kathryn Janeway was far too much of a scientist to believe in luck.

Straightening her shoulders she grabbed a black bag that contained cameras and other spy equipment that she would need for the mission and left her rooms. If things went well tonight, she and her crew could possibly be back on Voyager in a few days but if things went badly Voyager and her crew would be forfeit to the Hirogen. They would loose their lives as well as any chance of getting home.

Downstairs the rest of the Senior staff had gathered and were making preparations for tonight's coup. Tuvok was wearing an outfit of the time, brown pants and a long black jacket that his character seemed to favour. He was working behind the bar, preparing rifles. B'Elanna sat next to him, working on the radio. It was still a shock to see her in her maternity clothes and her hair is tight curls, she looked so feminine. At the end of the bar Seven of Nine was working with her normally efficiency although she was dressed in a black outfit and her hair was in a style much looser then she normally wore. Her delicate hands were busily doing fine tuning on the bomb and doing last minute checks.

Kathryn checked her watch one last time and then cleared her throat. "I know we have gone over this before but once again here is the plan. Tomas, Mme de Neuvre, that bomb needs to go off at exactly 5 o'clock. It will take the Germans about 10 minutes to leave HQ and head for the bombsite. In the confusion I will enter by an upper window from the back that Brigitte found. De Neuvre will follow me in a few minutes. We will get the radio, find the vacuum tubes and take pictures. Once we have them we will exit the building to a car that Tomas has obtained and high tail it to the Club. The point is for the Germans never to know we were there or tip them off to our existence. M. Nealen has already left to rendezvous with the Americans. Any questions?"

The Captain could see B'Elanna tighten. She and B'Elanna had harsh words about her role in the mission. B'Elanna was not a complacent person and liked to be in the middle of the action even if that was the most dangerous place. As chief of the resistance and as Captain of the crew, she couldn't let B'Elanna participate in tonight's little escapade, it was simply too dangerous, both for B'Elanna and for everyone else. B'Elanna understood this logically but had a hard time accepting that her main role was complete.

Walking over to B'Elanna, Kathryn put a hand on her shoulder, "I know this is the hardest thing I can ask of you to do right now Brigitte, but if you go with us you will only hinder us more then help. We need you here."

B'Elanna didn't answer, but merely returned to her task at the bar, shoulders slumped. Kathryn began to worry about exactly had gone on between her and her holo-boyfriend. But that was another issue. Turning away from B'Elanna, Kathryn looked at her crew. Tuvok passed her and Seven several different guns. Seven packed the bomb into a suitcase. Nodding to B'Elanna the three of them walked to the car. Operation Liberation had commenced.

The building was completely dark. Kathryn felt along the walls, trying to focus on where she was. According to B'Elanna's map this hallway would take her right into the main office. Creeping up, she listened to the door before she turning the handle. Most of the officers, Hirogen and hologram, had left the building or where guarding the main entrances but all there needed to be was one. Hearing nothing she swung the door open. Nothing. Reaching into her bag she turned on her flashlight.

The office was ornate and over done. Great works of art and sculptures lined the walls, pillaged from museums and galleries in Paris. However, all she was interested in was the radio. Tucked away in the corner, it was the best and most advanced in the region. Quickly she walked over to it and took out her screwdriver. Her ears perked up when she heard footsteps behind her. Checking her watch, she tried to remain calm, Seven wasn't due for another 5 minutes! Grabbing the gun she went over to the door. The walker paused a few times before he/she made it to the office. Finger on the trigger Kathryn got ready to shoot. A form stepped out of the shadows. And a gun was pointed at her face just as she pointed her gun at the intruder. Slowly she raised her eyes to the face to the owner of the gun aimed at her head.

"You are 5 minutes early!" Seven's nose was smudged and her hair was messed up.

"The bombing went better then expected and I discovered a more efficient route to this building."

Sighing Kathryn put away her gun. Sometime there was just no point in arguing with Seven. She passed her the screwdriver, "Take apart the radio and get the vacuum tubes, we don't have much time left."

Kathryn took a camera out of her bag and began to take picture of the documents on the Commandant's table. Maps, plans, codes, she felt like a bank robber who hit the jackpot unexpectedly. It took Seven only minutes to steal the vacuum parts and put everything back together. Kathryn checked her watch, they had only 2 minutes before they were scheduled to meet Tuvok at the car. The Germans would be back any minute. They could not afford tipping of the guards below, now.

Motioning to Seven, Kathryn pointed towards the exit. Together the women crept down the corridor heading toward the exit. Down the long hallway they went, careful of every noise. Kathryn almost heaved a sigh of relief when the made it to the exit safely. Suddenly soldiers surrounded the lights flashed on they. Damn! This whole thing had been a set up!

Grabbing her gun, Seven began to fire and Kathryn wasn't far behind her. The Germans had let them get to close to the exit and they managed to fight their way out of the building. There was gun fighting outside too but it was dark and the soldiers were confused so somehow the two women managed to make it to the car, where Tuvok was firing his sub-machine gun. Once they were in the car, Tuvok started the car and drove out of the mess, while Seven took over the machine gun. St. Claire may have been occupied before, but now it was a war zone now. The Americans had arrived and there was battle going on in the south sector of the city from what Janeway could see. They had to duck for over more the once on their way back to the club. As they were getting out the car, Tuvok winced ever so slightly. Keenly tuned to her officer's reactions Kathryn went right over to him, "What is the matter?"

"It appears that I have been shot, Katrine."

"Mme, get Brigitte, Tomas will need our help. Quickly!"

Support her Security Officer, Kathryn tried to examine the bullet wound. She hadn't seen very many in her time, but this one didn't look good. It had hit his right shoulder and his jacket and clothes were soaked with blood. Trying to apply pressure, Kathryn hopped that her Neelix and her First Officer were faring better than her group.

10 Kilometres outside of St. Claire - June 24th 1700 hours

Neelix had discovered many things on this little adventure. And one of them was that he didn't like 20th century sewers. Exiting the city had not been a fun task and he smelt absolutely disgusting. Plus he had nearly run security guards several times before making it to this abandoned farmhouse.

According to all the radio transmissions the resistance had received the Allies were planning on passing through here, and all he could hope was the Commander Chakotay didn't decide to go and do something different again. Checking his watch in his moonlight, he sighed. They were late. What he wouldn't give for his kitchen on Voyager right now. He would make some Letoa Root Stew and settle down with some Ensigns for some good gossip.

The quiet of the night was suddenly filled with rustling. It was faint but he could hear soft voices around the house. Was it them? Grabbing his coat he exited the house. With any luck this whole mission might go off with out a hitch.

"Hands in the air!" A gun was pointed at his head.

"I mean no harm! I just want to talk to Captain Miller. Now if you please take me to him. This whole problem can be resolved rather quickly."

"Silence!" The gun was jabbed more painfully into Neelix's skull, "Walk!"

"If you insist but really this is just a whole huge misunderstanding."

They walked and walked and walked. Apparently his captor was not part of the main group but a scout, looking for spies. Finally they made it to a little campsite that was a one-point farm where the Americans had set up HQ. What appeared to be a captured German Military watch had been put in the remains of a pigpen surrounded by guards. They did not look happy. "We are going to put you with your little friends now," the angry Private said, shoving him towards the pen.

Neelix took a glance at the men in the pen. "You know really I don't think that is such a good idea. I never really got along with that watch."

"Too bad." He captor replied pushing him into the pen. Suddenly Neelix was surrounded by German officers. "Hey guys! Long time no see. So how is life?" A punch hit his face. Apparently these officers could see what the dumb American couldn't. He was a Frenchman. Well sort of. Backing away slowly he tried to get a grip on how to get out of here. The Germans started to look like they were getting ready to hit again.

"You guys I think we have a lot in common here. There is no reason to fight, be friends. Common that sounds like fun! Fun! Fun is good!" They kept walking closer.

"Hey! Get that man out of there!" Neelix turned to see the Commander Chakotay walking towards the pen. "Break it up!" The guards looked shocked at first but did as their Captain ordered. The pen door was opened and Neelix was pushed out. "Private Lewis, find Private Bobby Davis and the new First Aid Doctor and bring them to my office." He turned back to Neelix, "If you would please follow me."

Chakotay's office was apparently an old bedroom in the farmhouse. The room was covered in maps of the area with arrows and pins marking where units were posted. Neelix thought the Commander looked ridiculous in his army outfit, his hair was slicked back and he appeared to be wearing several guns. "You can explain everything when Bobby and the Doc get here. You look like a man who needs some coffee."

"Yes sir. My very bones feel frozen." Neelix huddled against the warm tin coffee cup, trying warming up.

"I know the feeling, Monsieur." From behind him a very dirty Tom Paris entered. He was carrying a medic's kit and a gun, "Pass the coffee Captain."

Within minutes the Doctor entered. He appeared to have just left the medical tent and Neelix sincerely hoped that the reddish stains on his uniform weren't blood, "Captain, you asked for me?"

"Yes," Chakotay moved his eyebrow towards Neelix, "The resistance has contacted us".

"Well that is good news!"

"Katrine, wanted me to pass on some messages." Neelix spoke finally finding his voice. Immediately all attention was focussed on him. "We have distraction planned to make you entrance to the city easier. A bomb has been planted to distract their attention and manpower away from the gates. We are also taking advantage to get into the HQ to intercept plan and codes."

Chakotay went over to a detailed map and began to examine it closely, "When and where will the bomb go off?"

"At 6 o'clock exactly in the east neighbourhood."

"Then we don't have much time left. Private Davis, get the men moving as fast as possible, we don't have much time. Doc, I will need you to follow us. We don't want to be late for the date Katrine set up for us."

The USS Voyager - Stardate:

Harry stood the cargo bay, counting heads. 140, 141, 142. Good, they were all there. Most of the crew seemed to be taking this well, but that was to be expected since this wasn't the first time Voyager had been taken over.

The attack had been faster then anyone had expected. The Hirogen's technology might have been older but Voyager's was more advanced in some aspects such as sensors. They couldn't pick up the vessel of 8472 and it had taken Harry the better part of half an hour to convince them that the ship was even there. And by then it was too late. Even with Borg technology the species 8427 hadn't encountered much resistance. The crew had done well but the best were in the simulation and without Seven the Borg technology was hard to manage. The aliens had forced the crew into the Cargo Bay and that is they had been for the last hour or two.

Something, or rather some one, was pulling on his pant leg, "Harry, I want Neelix." He looked down to a little red- haired girl. Harry was not as close to Naomi as others member of the crew, but right now he felt very protective of her. He bent down and lifted her up, "Neelix is fighting the Hirogen right now. But don't worry, he and the Captain will win and then they will come and help us fight the aliens that have taken over the ship."

"Promise?" Her little voice was breaking Harry's heart. But before he could answer the aliens entered the cargo bay with Vorik. Almost right away the had separated the Vulcans from the rest of the crew and at first Harry was worried that they were yet another race that believed that tele-paths should be killed. Yet he was soon corrected, the species 8472 were apparently tele-paths too and communicated to the crew through the Vulcans.

Vorik seemed to drift for a moment before speaking, "Ensign Kim."

Putting Naomi down, he turned to face the aliens, "Yes."

"You are to come with us. They with to speak with you."

Faced with no other choice, Harry followed the aliens, walking down the now silent corridors of Voyager to what was the Captain's Ready Room. Vorik drifted again before saying, "They wish for you to sit."

Harry sat down and faced them, his features unemotional. Vorik began talking again, "They wish to know if you are in charge."

"Yes."

"They want to know why the senior staffs are all in the holodeck instead of at their posts.'

"To prevent much bloodshed with the Hirogen, our senior staff and their entered in a Game you could call in the Holo-decks."

"You are not Allies with the Hirogen?"

"No"

Vorik squinted again and paused before talking, "This game fascinates them. They have many questions. They have read pieces of background material and Mr. Paris left around. They wish to know all the details."

Harry shifted in the chair and began to explain all he knew. He eventually asked for permission to use the consoles and hacked into Tom's files to access more information. The integration went on for hours. Finally the questions stopped and Vorik made some last comments on the aliens' behalf, "They wish to enter this simulation."

"As who? All the roles are taken."

"As the Russians."

"The Russians weren't even in this battle. They can't!"

The aliens seemed to dismiss his last comment as if they hadn't heard it, "They wish for you to tell them how to access holo-controls."

Harry might have told them all they ever wanted to now about WWII but he wouldn't give them access to the holo-controls willingly, "I will not."

All of a sudden Vorik began to shake violently and then started scream. Harry stood up. "What are you doing stop! Stop!"

The screams merely grew louder. Another Vulcan who had been in the room started to scream. Harry knew that giving the controls over to the aliens potentially meant handing over the lives of the Senior staff but he couldn't watch what they were doing to Vorik , and on top of that if he didn't talk now and control what information they received, they would get it from someone else, who would tell them everything. "Okay! Okay! I'll talk."

Vorik's screams suddenly stopped.

Harry stepped up to a control panel. "The holo-deck controls are here, here and here, " He said tapping the flashing cannels.

Vorik was still lying on the ground but managed to murmur, "They want to now where the holo-decks are."

Looking the creatures straight in the eye he said, "Follow me."

As they walked down the halls Harry felt a new sense of purpose. Captain Janeway had made him, Harry Kim, acting Captain and it was time he started acting like it. "The holodeck is here, to enter the simulation you must enter the command codes." They ordered him to them the codes. He did, trying to keep his mind as blank as possible to avoid them picking up any plans he might hatch.

Not even trying to communicate through the shaking Vorik they pushed the two men back to the Cargo Bay and closed the door. Obviously not used to keeping prisoners thought Harry, or else them would have posted guards just outside but inside too. But he couldn't consider that now there were more important things at stake. "Lt. Carrey and Nicoletti, we need to get access to a control panel NOW!"

Quickly the Lt.s from engineering responded to him, removing metal panel to reveal a maze of wires. They worked to silence for a few minutes before, Nicoletti announced, "This will let you see what is going on, but you can't access anything, Their technology is blocking all of our efforts."

One glance at the screen gave Harry all the information he needed. The species 8472 had accessed the holo-deck controls and were going to enter the holo-deck. Harry paced the floor, thinking. The aliens had written themselves into the program, but they had done it crudely, not writing any rules or restrictions. And the Captain and the rest of the Senior staff had no idea what was going on or how to fight back against this new force. He knew that he couldn't modify the rules from the outside. Harry was a good programmer and he had made sure of that when he wrote the security protocols. There was only one way to change the program...

"All replacement senior staff report to me now!" Quickly a group Ensigns and Lt.s huddled around him, "Species 8472 is accessing the holo-deck. They are trying to go in and enter the game. They will not obey the rules. They can act of character, shoot with modern technology. The only way to modify the program so that the Captain and the rest of the crew can fight back is to give the program a big power shock from the inside, thus confusing the security protocols for long enough to rewrite the program."

"But how are we going to get it?" Lt. Carrey frowned, "None of us have characters in the program."

" Lt. Paris wrote an emergency character for me to use if for exactly this kind of emergency. What I need to know is how we orchestrate a power surge without the aliens if figuring it out."

The members of engineering held a mini meeting, speaking very quickly in technical terms. Turning back to the group Lt. Carry cleared his throat, "I think that we can arrange for that power surge but only for a short while. We would have to have precise time to send the power to the holo-decks."

"Good. That still leaves one problem. How to get me out of here."

They debated that problem for a long while. Every plan involved overpowering the aliens at some point, something they just didn't have the strength to do. The obvious solution was the Jeffories tubes in the cargo bay but after much inspection they gave up that plan. There were only two, one was jammed with a computerised lock and the other too small for anyone to climb through. At one point, Naomi Wildmen came over to the group and stood near her mother, suddenly she began to tug on her mother's pants vigorously. Looking down at her daughter she asked, "What's up honey?"

"I could climb through the Tubes, mommy. I am the Captain's assistant after all."

"Thanks for the offer honey. But this is a job for adults."

"But I could Mommy! I had to climb through that tube before when my ball got stuck there. All I would have to do is to go over to the bigger tube and press the release button."

All of sudden the other members looked up from the little red-haired girl. She was just the right size, and her plan could work. Naomi had never lived a normal childhood, being the first child ever born on a Starship and Neelix was always saying how bright and courageous she was. The species 8472 had entered the holo-deck hours ago. Harry need to get in there as soon as possible.

Bending down so that he was eye level with Naomi Harry spoke earnestly to the little girl, "If we let you do this you can't get scared or stop, we need you to keep going. Your mommy and I will talk you through the whole thing and you will need to listen to our instructions. It will be dark up there and we can't give you any light. But do you still want to do this?"

"Yessir!"

Lt. Carrey opened the hatch and they lifted Naomi into the black whole. They heard her crawling around.

"You okay honey?" called Sam.

"Fine Mommy."

"Okay then just keep crawling till you find a different sort of metal, instead of rough all smooth." Harry tried not to think of what could happen to her if the aliens decided to do a spot check right now.

From above them they could hear a little voice all out, "Found it!"

"Good, now turn the lever, slowly." The big hatch popped open. From up above they could see Naomi's little face peering over. Suddenly Vorik sat up from where he had been lying, his eyes began to roll of all over, "They are coming!" Then they heard to footsteps of the aliens.

"They are coming!" whispered Sam.

"Quick!" said somebody else forcing Harry up into the larger hatch. Soon everything went dark again. He heard the whisper of what he thought was Naomi going down. Quietly he tried to remember where the holodecks were in relation to the Cargo Bay. Twice he made wrong turns but he eventually made it there. It was creepy the whole time he felt like he was being followed. Please, please he thought, don't let any of the aliens know our plan. Getting really unnerved, he turned around and called, "Stop following me!"

From out of the darkness a little voice called, "Sorry Ensign Kim."

"Naomi?" Harry was confused, "What are you doing here?"

"They closed the hatch before I could get out. I was scared but I promised you I wouldn't be so I didn't say anything and followed you."

In his mind he was cursing up a blue streak! He couldn't take Naomi back, not if the aliens were doing spot checks, and he couldn't leave her here. Damn! She was going to have to go with him. Crawling closer to her Harry tried to figure what to do, "Naomi, we can't go back now, so you are going to have to go into the simulation with me. Okay? Things are going to be different there, they holo people won't understand tricorders or COMM systems so we can't talk about them. While we are there we are going to have to pretend we are someone else so that we can go find Neelix and the Captain. You are being a good girl so far and I need you to keep being a good girl."

"I will, Acting Captain sir!" Her little voice already sounded brighter.

"Okay, I need to access this panel over here and then we can go right into the simulation."

"Yessir."

"Ready to go?"

"Yes" the little voice pipped up. Harry opened the hatch, grabbed hold of Naomi and slid into 1945 France.

B'Elanna sat in the corner of the bar , watching the door out of the corner of her eyes. From outside she could hear the fighting getting closer and closer. The Germans had been putting up a better resistance then anticipated and shops were being turned into barracks and markets into war zones. It was only a matter of time before someone, from either side, entered the club. Sweat trickled down her forehead as the voices and whistles of shots could be heard just on the street, she cocked the gun she held in her right hand, ready to fire if she had to. The only light in the club was from the kitchen where the Captain and Seven over Tuvok. He was losing a lot of blood, and the kitchen table where he lay was drenched in his green blood. If Neelix didn't bring the Doctor, Tom and Chakotay here soon, Tuvok was going to die. That is, if Tom, Doc and Chakotay weren't dead already. But all those thoughts were pushed out of her head as yet another wave of nausea washed over her. God she hated being pregnant! As much as she hated to admit it to the Captain, she had really been unfit to go on the mission tonight. But still, it had been pure hell, sitting here waiting for them to come back.

Crunch, crunch. B'Elanna could hear footsteps outside. They paused and then the door burst open and a darkened form entered the club. Prepared, she aimed her gun, "Hands in the air!"

From out of the darkness a voice asked, "B'E..Briggitte?"

"Bobby?"

Leaning out of the door, the form called out, "It is okay guys, we found them." From outside the window B'Elanna could see crouched shadows running across street and into the Club.

"Doctor!" B'Elanna hoped an prayed it wasn't too late, "Tuvok has been shot." Before she could finish the Doctor raced over to the kitchen. Chakotay, Tom and Neelix all followed. By the time B'Elanna had managed to waddle over there, the Doc was already peering over Tuvok's wound.

"This is good, this is good." Glancing up at the Captain's doubtful expression he clarified, "Well at least as far as bullet wounds go. But we don't have much time. Tom do you feel like performing some surgery with 'modern' technology?"

"You have no idea how great that sounds Doc!"

"Well then please, have someone guard the windows, we really can't have any one seeing what we are doing." Suddenly the smells of the kitchen, the sight of the Tuvok's blood, the stress and pressure got to B'Elanna. All day she had tried to fight the urge to throw up. But she couldn't do it anymore and before she had time to explain she raced to the bathroom, opened the door and emptied the contents of both her stomachs in the sink. She barely had time to come up for air before the nausea hit her again. Around the fifth time she was puking her guts out, she realised that there were an arm around shoulders and a hand smoothing her hair. When she finally could open her eyes and breathe at the same time, she turned to see a very dirty Tom Paris standing beside her. He looked up at her with his bright blue eyes, "Better now?"

Too tried to lie, she closed her eyes and braced herself against the counter top, "No." She paused and then continued, " I thought you were operating with the Doctor."

"Well, he doesn't really need me and I got worried about you."

"I am fine." She didn't need his worry, she could look after herself.

"Yes, well I could see that when you threw up everything that you ate in the last 2 years."

A bruising response was on the tip of her tongue when yet another wave hit her. She turned just in time to the sink. Gasping for air she felt Tom pull her close again and whisper and say softly, "Shh...shhh. It is okay babydoll, it is okay." Under normal situation she would have killed him for calling her 'babydoll' instead she started to cry. She was tried and upset and this holo-pregnancy was doing horrible things to her hormones. Somehow, Tom seemed to understand all of this. In between sobs she said, "I just feel so weak and helpless. I can't work the radio, I can't shot a gun and all I get to do is pealing potatoes, where I cut my hands!"

Very seriously Tom looked up at the ceiling and said, "I almost shot off my foot today, if that makes you feel any better." She couldn't help it. She giggled.

Pausing Tom brushed some sweat soaked hair out of her face, "You look dead, how about you and I go up to bed? I have been dying to sleep on something that isn't the ground for days."

"We may have a pretty loose sense of protocol but do you think that this is appropriate? We are still on technically on duty. Are you sure you should even be in my bedroom?"

"Yes," Tom flashed her a grin, "It is part of the story line." He leaned in closer, "Reunited lovers, remember? And don't worry about anyone coming looking for us. The two commanders are comparing notes, the Doc is checking up on his patient and everyone else already went to bed."

She remembered the storyline, but she never thought he would seriously want to get near her when she looked like this. Vainly she tried to lead the way to her room but in the end Tom had to support her. She tried to bat him away half-heartily, she hated being at weak like this. Normally she was so capable and fit that it felt like she couldn't do anything anymore. She opened the door and showed Tom her tiny little room.

It was plain and simple. A wooden bed, a clothes trunk and a mirror. One window that faced the back of the building. With both her and Tom in the room, it seemed even smaller. For the first time since he stormed into the club B'Elanna got a chance to take a really good look at him. He was wearing the standard green military uniform, but it was streaked with mud and dirt and even ripped in some places. He had cuts all over his face and hands and his hair was slicked back in the popular style. He was still wearing his heavy army boots and his pistol. Dropping his gun on the floor he sat down on her trunk and began to remove his boots. "So, these last few days have been pretty hard on you haven't they?"

"It hasn't been fun watching everything I say, every move I make, suppressing every that is me." She put a hand over her stomach, "Plus this little thing had just made everything so much more fun."

Tom looked down, "Sorry about that." Clearly remembering the discussion they had when the profiles had been passed out.

"Oh, you'll pay. You'll pay." Grinning at him, she began to ready for bed herself. Her nightgown was already laid out on the bed and she lifted her arms in vain to try to undo the buttons at the back of her maternity blouse. From behind Tom rose, 'Let me help you with that."

It was strangely nice to have Tom here to look after her. Normally she resented that kind of thing but tonight she was too tried to fight it. One by one the buttons and then the blouse fell away and she didn't have to rip any of them. Suddenly she heard a gasp from behind her, "Oh my god," Tom pulled her around to face him, "Who did this to you?" The fury in his voice was barely contained.

Not understanding B'Elanna looked down to where her blouse had fallen away. Her torso and arms were covered in bruises where her "boyfriend" had grabbed her. Trying to shrug the whole thing off she joked, "Hazard of duty."

"Does the Captain know about this?"

"What would it matter if she did? We had to get the information out of HQ and he was the best source. What did you want me to do? Your manly pride hurt or something that someone else was with your woman?" She came down on him too hard but his anger had provoked her.

"No, of course not! I already knew that it was part of your mission, but... but this is wrong."

Her anger cooled almost as fast as it had rose, "Well it doesn't matter now."

"Yes it does. He hurt you," Tom looked still as angry, "If I ever see him.."

Trying to avoid further conflict B'Elanna pulled on her night-gown and crawled into bed. "Are you going to stay the night?"

"Of course," he paused, "Except if you don't want me too..." Tom was being careful, sometimes you didn't want to push to many of B'Elanna's buttons at the same time.

"I do but..." She tried to figure out how to explain, "I just...I thought...I assumed that you wouldn't want to sleep with me when I am like this." She explained gesturing to her large belly.

Leaning over Tom kissed her nose, "You are always beautiful to me," She smiled and curled into the cover. From behind her, she could hear Tom undressing and then crawling into bed, "You have no idea how great it is too be able to hold you in my arms again." She tried to control it but as he reached out to hold her, she flinched. Jerking back Tom sat up, "He really did hurt you didn't he?"

Turning away from him, B'Elanna ignored the question. "Answer me! What happened?"

For the second time today, her floodgates opened. All of sudden Tom was quiet again, "Sorry, babe, sorry. I didn't mean it that way, it is just you never react that way, ever."

Turning so that her face was buried into his shirt she mumbled, "It not like it hasn't happened before, when I was a Maquis. I don't know why this is upsetting me so much. It is nothing, really. It didn't even really hurt. It was just that this time I couldn't protect myself, I was so incapacitated, I couldn't do anything!"

Tom stiffened up against her, "Nobody has the right to hurt you like that. If I ever do see him I WILL kill him."

Looking up from his now soaked shirt he replied, "Not if I get to him first."

"Good point." Very, very slowly Tom leaned down and gave her a extremely gentle kiss. Slowly he moved he hand up to her side. "This okay?" He whispered. She nodded, but tonight she just needed Tom to hold her. And some how he understood that and instead of continuing, moved so that she was held loosely in his arms. "Good night Babydoll."

"You call me that again and I break your arm."

"Love you too."


End file.
